Characteristic volume fractions of different grains in porous media for anomalous dispersion

Anomalous solute transport in porous media is an important issue in groundwater research. In this paper, we explore the relationship between the anomalous solute transport and the volume fractions of different grains in the porous media. Via simulation, we find that there is a maximum and a minimum in the degree of anomalous transport when changing the volume fractions of different grains. Moreover, the characteristic volume fractions corresponding to the anomalous transport maximum and minimum vary little with the flow field and diffusion coefficient of the solute. We also find that the volume fraction corresponding to the most anomalous dispersion is close to the threshold of the site percolation for simple-cubic networks.     

Metagenomic analysis reveals the effects of cotton straw–derived biochar on soil nitrogen transformation in drip-irrigated cotton field

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Biochar has been widely accepted as a soil amendment to improve nitrogen (N) use efficiency, but the effect of biochar on N transformation metabolic...     

Growth of Zostera japonica in different sediment habitats of the Yellow River estuary in China

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The estuarine delta of the Yellow River is a region of strong land-ocean-human interactions that undergoes a unique evolutionary process. The delta is...     

Use of historical and contemporary distribution of mammals in China to inform conservation

A systematic understanding of dynamic animal extinction trajectories for different regions in a nation like China is critically important to developing practical conservation strategies. We explored historical and contemporary changes in terrestrial mammalian diversity to determine how diversity in each of the 5 regions in China has changed over time and to examine the conservation potential of these regions. We used records from databases on Pleistocene mammalian fossils and historical distribution records (1175–2020) for Primates (as a case study) to reconstruct evolutionary and historical distribution trajectories of the 11 orders of terrestrial mammals and to predict their prospective survival based on the national conservation strategy applied. The results indicated that since the Pleistocene, 4–5 mammalian orders have been lost in the northeast, 3 in central China, 2 along the coast, and 1 in the northwest. In the southwest, all 11 orders were maintained. Contemporarily, the coast and southwest had the highest and second-highest species densities. The southwest region and southeastern sections of the northwest region were the most historically and contemporarily diverse areas, which suggests that they should be the first priority for protected area (PA) designation. The central and coastal areas should be secondarily prioritized. In these 2 regions, conservation should focus on human coexistence with nature. Less attention should be paid to the PA in the northeast and western northwest because in these areas ecosystems are depauperate and the climate is harsh. Conservation in these areas should focus principally on avoiding further human encroachment on natural areas. Article impact statement: Historical and contemporary patterns of extinction can be a basis for mammalian conservation strategies.     

Sb release characteristics of the solid waste produced in antimony mining smelting process

Sb release characteristics of blast furnace slag, mining waste rock and tailing sand were investigated in static immersion and dynamic leaching test. These three kinds of waste samples were collected from the antimony mine in Lengshuijiang, China, produced in mining smelting process. Effects of solid/liquid ratio, sample size and pH of leaching solution on Sb release characteristics were inspected based on the analysis of scanning electron microscope, pH and EC of leachate. The optimal parameters for Sb leaching of each sample were analyzed. For blast furnace slag and mining waste rock, Sb release contents increased along with the decline of solid/liquid ratio. The maximum accumulative release contents were 42.13, 34.26 mg/kg at the solid/liquid ratio of 1:20. While Sb release content for tailing sand decreased first and then increased with the reduction of solid/liquid ratio. When the solid/liquid ratio was 1:5, the accumulative Sb release content reached the most (24.30 mg/kg). Sb release content of mining waste rock increased with the drop of leaching solution pH, with the highest accumulative release content of 26.01 mg/kg at pH 2.0. Sb release contents of blast furnace slag and tailing sand showed positive correlation with the variation of leaching solution pH. The maximum accumulative release contents of these two samples were 215.91 and 147.83 mg/kg, respectively, when leaching solution pH was 7.0. In summary, Sb release capacity of the three samples in descending order was tailing sand, blast furnace slag and mining waste rock. pH and EC of the leachate in dynamic test varied independently with the initial pH of leaching solution while showing close relationship with mineral hydrolysis in the waste.     

In situ electron-induced reduction of NOx via CNTs activated by DBD at low temperature

• An in situ electron-induced deNO_x process with CNT activated by DBD was achieved. • Carbon atoms on CNT surface were verified to be excited by plasma in DBD-CNT system. • Reactions between NO_x and excited C result in synergistic effect of DBD-CNT system. In this study, a new in situ electron-induced process is presented with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as a reduction agent activated by dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) for nitrogen oxide (NO_x) abatement at low temperature (<407 K). Compared with a single DBD system and a DBD system with activated carbon (DBD-AC), a DBD system with carbon nanotubes (DBD-CNT) showed a significant promotion of NO_x removal efficiency and N₂ selectivity. Although the O₂ content was 10%, the NO_x conversion and N₂ selectivity in the DBD-CNT system still reached 64.9% and 81.9% at a specific input energy (SIE) of 1424 J/L, and these values decreased to 16.8%, 31.9% and 43.2%, 62.3% in the single DBD system and the DBD-AC system, respectively. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were utilized to investigate surface changes in the CNTs after activation by DBD to explore the NO_x reduction abatement mechanism of this new process. Furthermore, the outlet gas components were also observed via Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to help reveal the NO_x reduction mechanism. Experimental results verified that carbon atoms excited by DBD and the structure of CNTs contributed to the synergistic activity of the DBD-CNT system. The new deNO_x process was accomplished through in situ heterogenetic reduction reactions between the NO_x and carbon atoms activated by the plasma on the CNTs. In addition, further results indicated that the new deNO_x process exhibited acceptable SO₂ tolerance and water resistance.     

大气细颗粒物对小鼠T淋巴细胞亚群的影响

大气颗粒物对肺免疫系统有潜在毒性作用,打破免疫系统平衡,大气颗粒物成分中危害首当其冲的是大气细颗粒物(PM_(2.5)),为研究大气细颗粒物引起的机体T淋巴细胞中Th1/Th2免疫失衡方向。本研究通过免疫组化实验方法检测暴露后小鼠肺组织中T淋巴细胞的表达,进一步采用流式细胞术检测大气细颗粒物气管滴注后小鼠肺脏淋巴细胞中Th1/Th2比例。暴露组小鼠肺组织免疫组化研究结果提示浸润细胞区有大量的CD4~+T细胞,中高剂量暴露组小鼠肺组织中淋巴细胞亚群Th1/Th2比例向Th1偏移。大气细颗粒物影响免疫失衡,使T淋巴细胞向Th1漂移。     

纳米二氧化铈的潜在生态风险及毒性作用机制研究进展

作为重要的纳米稀土化合物,纳米二氧化铈(CeO2 )被广泛应用于工、农、医学等领域,随之而来的是大量的纳米CeO2 在其生产使用和处理处置等过程中被释放进入到环境中,进而导致其生物安全性受到越来越多的关注.本文从纳米CeO2 对细胞、组织器官、植物、水生生物和土壤生物产生的毒性效应入手,系统综述了纳米CeO2 的潜在环境生态风险;进一步从物理损伤和化学抑制2个方面剖析了纳米CeO2 的生物毒性作用机制;最后基于已有的关于纳米CeO2 生态风险的研究中存在的不足对未来发展方向进行了展望.本文旨在为纳米CeO2 的生态安全评价提供理论基础和科学依据.     

排污权交易之排放跟踪数据校核研究

本文以排污权交易的核心业务排放跟踪管理为出发点,选择电厂二氧化硫指标进行排放跟踪数据过程校核体系研究,探索进一步提高排污权交易体系中排放数据准确性的机制。     

中国环境风险现状及发展趋势分析

基于国内2000-2009年以来环境污染事故统计资料,深入分析了中国现阶段环境风险类型、事故高发区域、事故损失、环境风险事故诱因等特征,并对其环境风险演变趋势进行了判断。新时期中国经济增长方式处于转变阶段,以布局型环境隐患和结构型环境风险为首要威胁,风险类型更加复杂化,事故影响范围进一步扩大,由于居民消费转型与科技发展带来的新型环境风险更是不可预知,环境风险压力进一步增大。